Original Halloween Star Charles Cyphers Dies at 85

Charles Cyphers, the character actor best known for his role as Sheriff Lee Brackett in the Halloween franchise, has died. Although exact details have yet to surface, it’s being reported the actor died in Tuscon, Arizona after a “brief illness,” according to his manager Chris Roe. He was 85.

“Charles was a lovable and sensitive man,” Roe said in a statement obtained by Variety. “He always had the best stories, and you got a full performance while he told you. He was a close friend and client of many years who will be dearly missed.”

Cyphers appeared in three Halloween films, the 1976 original, Halloween II in 1981, and then 2021’s Halloween Kills. He was a frequent collaborator of John Carpenter’s in the 1970s and 1980s, going on the appear in Carpenter’s Assault on Precinct 13, The Fog, and Escape From New York.

“Charles Cyphers has passed away. He was an early and frequent collaborator with me on my early movies. A kind man, he was a friend. I shall miss him,” Carpenter tweeted Tuesday afternoon.

Cyphers’ Halloween co-star Nancy Kyes added, “So sorry to hear about dear Chuck. My friend of many years, he could always be relied on for a kind word, a good laugh and a great story. How he will be missed.”

The actor was July 28, 1939 and graduated from both the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and California State University, Los Angeles. Other career highlights for Cyphers include appearances in The Bionic Woman, Wonder Woman, Charlie’s Angels, Roots, Starsky and Hutch, and Major League.